PotC: The Legend of the Fountain of Youth
by Stardust Rose
Summary: To reach the Fountain of Youth, Jack discovers he must enlist the help of the legendary pirate, Fleur de Bois. With her help he can achieve immortality and comandeer the Black Pearl again. But, of course, nothing ever runs smoothly. Full summary inside.
1. Prologue: The Crossing

**Pirates of the Carribean: The Legend of the Fountain of Youth**

_By Stardust_Rose_

_**To reach the Fountain of Youth, Jack discovers he must enlist the help of the legendary pirate, Fleur de Bois. With her help he can achieve immortality and comandeer the Black Pearl again. But, of course, nothing ever runs smoothly. At first, he must find the notoriously difficult to find Fleur de Bois, and that's before he battles with the demons of his past, and a secret society of pirates even more powerful than the now-dead Davy Jones.**_

_The Legend of the Fountain of Youth has no particular time setting, but is probably set just after the events of AWE (except Will isn't doomed as the captain of the Dutchman) but it's pretty confusing... Anyway, most of the people killed in AWE are alive, because I hate it when good characters are killed off).  
Enjoy, read and review!_

_Disclaimer: Disney owns copyright of Pirates of the Caribbean.  
The song that is sung in the Prologue is from a film called The Secret of Anastasia and does not belong to me either._

* * *

**Prologue: The Crossing**

_HMS Victory_ cut effortlessly through the water, her huge white sails flapping proudly in the breeze. Her crossing from England to Port Royal had been fairly straight-forward and easy; the wind had been on their side. Though the journey had lasted a fair few weeks, all of the crew were in high spirits, for they were nearing their desired location.

Standing at the stern was a young girl of about eleven or twelve years old. She would be starting a new life at Port Royal as her father was to be the new Admiral. Even though she was so young, she clearly was from a very privileged background; her long, honey-blonde hair was immaculately curled and she wore an elegant, if slightly fussy for the voyage, silver-gold dress. Instead of the normal hustle and bustle going on above and below deck, she seemed oblivious to it all. Instead, she seemed absorbed in her own thoughts.

Shivering slightly and the strange iciness that now enveloped the _Victory_, the girl stared sadly out at the water. Although she had welcomed the new life in another country, she would desperately miss her life in England, and the memories she'd had there. Fortunately, she would be rid (partially) of the bad ones, like Mother dying. Even though the girl had been only four at the time, she was still mourning the loss of her mother.

Thinking about England and Mother made the girl's heart sink so low she felt she'd never be happy again. Blinking the fresh salty tears back, the girl rested her hands shakily on the side of the boat and started singing. Singing made her happy whatever the circumstances, and today was no different.

"Though the season blows bitter cold,

And bright days are done,

There's a season we'll soon behold,

When we'll all laugh in the sun –"

Suddenly she was cut of by the Lieutenant Cartier, who was escorting the girl, her father and merchant goods to Port Royal. He coughed awkwardly. The girl spun around, and smiled in relief as she saw who it was, though her heart was hammering in her chest. For a moment she thought it was pirates, but refrained from saying so because she knew the Lieutenant would only scoff if she said anything.

"Lieutenant," the girl curtsied in respect.

"The winds are changing, Miss Rose. It would be a good idea to go below deck. It isn't far to Port Royal, and –"

Just then, Lieutenant Cartier averted his gaze from the girl and into the distance. A sudden fog had enveloped the _Victory_ in a thick, grey mist. Rose turned to see what he was looking at, but couldn't see anything.

"Aye, there's somethin' strange happen' out there. Pirates, I'd say," a grizzly-looking sailor observed, squinting into the distance. "You want ter stop singing, missy. They'll hear yer, and you'll doom us all."

"That is enough, Mr Murray," Lieutenant Cartier said coolly, fixing the sailor with a hard stare that commanded authority.

"Aye, Lieutenant. But don't say I didn't warn yeh," Murray grumbled, ambling off back down to the lower deck.

Before Rose could even watch Mr Murray disappear below deck, the sound of shouting and screaming and the choking smell of burning wood shrouded around _HMS Victory_.

Lieutenant Cartier immediately started striding off to the middle of the deck to assemble the now confused and panicking crew, then seeming to remember Rose, he spun around and crouched down so he was at her level. His cool brown eyes met her sparkling, excited blue ones.

"Rose, you must promise to go below deck and stay there, okay?"

But before she had a chance to say anything, her father had appeared on deck. "Papa!" Rose exclaimed, rushing to her father and hugging him tightly.

"My dear Rose, you must promise to stay below deck and not go racing after pirates. They are dangerous, bloodthirsty monsters and not at all like pirates in story books. Do you promise?" Mr Reinheart looked sternly but lovingly at his daughter.

"Promise, Papa," Rose said solemnly, watching her father and the Lieutenant rush off to organise the sailors. Neither men saw Rose's crossed fingers behind her back...

Watching from the shadows as the _HMS Victory_ sailed slowly past the wreckage of something that was, once, a proud navy ship. Listening as everyone shouted, Rose crept out and stood at the boat's side, watching in horror as a man from her boat declared, "No survivors, sir."

As Rose watched a piece of driftwood away, she noticed out of the corner of her eye another boat, just as big but suspiciously more like a –

"Pirates!" Rose gasped, squinting through the fog at the second boat. Even from a distance, she could see it was a huge boat, and there was no mistaking the big, black flag with a skull on it. It was, without a doubt, a pirate boat.

Running the the bow of the boat, she squinted as she tried to read the name of the boat. She had quite good eyesight, if only she could see past this pesky fog. Leaning over the side of the boat, she squinted even more. Just a little farther and she would be able to see the first word.

"The..." Rose said aloud, leaning even more out of the boat. "The Barn..." A tiny bit more and she'd be able to see.

"The Barn...acle! _The Barnacle_!" The name seemed familiar somehow, but she couldn't quite place it...

Then with a heart-stopping moment, the boat came to a sudden stop, and Rose was lurched out of the ship. She screamed as she fell into the icy, murky grey waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Sea sprayed her face as it went up her nose and down her throat. Coughing and spluttering helplessly, she screamed as loud as she could, "Help me! Please! Help!"

The waves rippling from underneath the _Victory_ splashed all around her, and as Rose was a weak swimmer it wasn't long before she was tugged underneath. The icy water sent a chill right down to the bones, and as Rose was dragged further and further toward the seabed she knew she didn't have long left. She screwed her eyes shut together and a mental image of her father flashed into her mind it gave Rose the power to try one final time to reach the surface. She cut through the water with her arms as strongly as she could. She could almost see the surface...and then she was dragged back down again. Without fresh oxygen in her lungs, Rose saw a flash of white, and then blackness...

"Arabella, get some blankets! Then, inform the captain!" An English voice broke through the darkness, and at first Rose thought she was back in England. But then it dawned on her the 'Captain' part, and realized she was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after falling out of _HMS_ _Victory_.

Slowly, Rose opened her eyes. "Papa?" Weakly, Rose sat up, trying to take in her new surroundings, but everything was fuzzy, her vision blurred.

"No miss, you are on _The Barnacle_," the voice answered. Rose sat up properly, shivering, and rubbed her eyes. Once her vision had recovered, she found that she was looking straight at a young man about six or seven years older than she.

Instead of replying with an expected "Then I demand you take me back, _at once_", the girl merely looked at the man with huge eyes, then said with a hint of excitement in her voice, "Is it a _pirate_ ship?"

Fitzwilliam Dalton III was visibly stunned, and replied, "You fell out of your boat. We rescued you."

"Oh!" Rose said suddenly, remembering why she fell out. Her heart flipped over when she realized that everyone would be aware that she was missing, and did not want to worry her father. And, she didn't want her saviours to be captured and killed, even if they were pirates. "I do not wish to sound rude, Sir, but I really must go back to my crew. Papa will be ever so worried. I would be much obliged if you were to take me back to _HMS Victory_."

She tried to brush her soaking hair out of her face and tried to look as presentable as possible. Suddenly another man came striding over to where Rose now stood. A blanket was draped over her shoulders by a girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old. She nodded curtly at Rose before retreating to do her duties. The captain, Rose noted, was a very strange man indeed. From the strange clothes he wore to his comical, high-stepping walk, Rose could tell he was very eccentric.

"Captain," Rose said, curtseying in respect. The English man back away too, smiling stiffly at Rose before he, too, retreated.

"The name's Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?" The captain corrected her, looking her up and down. "You look a right mess," he added. As if she didn't know that already.

"Um...savvy?" Rose replied uncertainly, as he stepped towards her. Rose hastily backed away; there was something about this man that made her feel strange. His clothes, in particular, were a curious sight. He wore a red bandana over his wavy, uncontrollable black hair that just skimmed his shoulders. His clothes were so curious to Rose that she really couldn't name them.

Jack grinned at her. "Now you're starting to sound more like pirate. Hang on though, you still didn't say. _Why_, exactly, are you on my boat?"

Before she could explain, there was a sudden kerfuffle at the back of the ship and all of a sudden Lieutenant Cartier unsheathed his sword that swung from the belt around his waist. "Step away from her," he commanded.

Jack raised his hands, as if to protest his innocence, and stared at Rose. "I didn't do anything! I just came out of my cabin, and she was just there. It's Fitzy you want to talk to – he loves to rescue a damsel in distress. Fitzwilliam! Come here now!"

Jack spun around and looked for his crew member. He looked nervously at Lieutenant Cartier and his sword. Smiling dazzlingly at the Lieutenant, he pointed out, "Didn't I save your distressing damsel? Well, wouldn't it be better if you went back onto your boat and leave little old Jack on his onesies? Pretty voice, though," he added, grinning at Rose. She smiled shyly back.

Furrowing his brow at this bemusing teenage pirate, Lieutenant Cartier glanced at Rose. "Are you harmed Rose?"

"No, Lieutenant," Rose answered honestly, then wanting to sound mature added, "This man saved my life. He should be rewarded, not condemned!"

Captain Jack gave another charming smile and winked at the little girl. Blushing slightly, she pretended not to notice. Lieutenant Cartier, on the other hand, was furious. "That is enough! Rose, your father is anxiously waiting your return. You gave us all quite a fright."

And then, in a very un-Cartier way, he unbuttoned his own blue military coat and draped it around Rose. Taken aback, she nodded her thanks at the Lieutenant.

The Lieutenant glared at the young pirate. "Your kind should not be allowed to sail these waters. You take over innocent men's' boats, kill them, then steal from them. One day, that will all change. One day, you will not be above the law, and you will pay for destroying ships like the one back there," he snarled ferociously.

"Is that so? Well, as it were, me and my crew were just sailing past to check it out. They are the ones you should be lecturing," Jack pranced over to the side of the boat and pointed into the distance.

Suddenly, through the mist, they could just about see the silhouette of another ship, even bigger than this one. It was illuminated by a strange ghostly glow, and Rose couldn't help but shudder in fear.

"They say a great doom befalls anyone who sees the _Flying Dutchman_," Jack said softly, watching as the ghost ship disappeared into the gloom.

"Superstitious nonsense," Cartier scoffed, but even he looked a bit worried.

"You've doomed us all, Miss Rose," wailed Mr Murray, who was shuffling anxiously about in the background.

"Let us go, men," Lieutenant Cartier commanded, striding back towards the boats that connected the _Barnacle_ to the _Victory_, giving Jack one last distasteful look. "The sooner we get to Port Royal, the safer we'll be."

Jack waved them goodbye, or Rose thought he might have actually been shooing them away with his flamboyant hand gestures.

The girl turned to leave, then stood facing Jack again. He peered in surprise at her, then gave her another dazzling smile.

"Thank you, Captain Jack Sparrow. I shall never forget this."


	2. Fourteen Years Later

**Chapter One**

The mid-morning sun shone boldly over the port of Tortuga. The Caribbean Sea glittered like a sapphire in it's strong rays. As usual, the port was busy as usual. So busy, in fact, that no one noticed the huge pirate ship float quietly away, replaced by a small rowing boat.

Swaggering down the harbour was none other than Jack Sparrow, as usual with a glass of rum in his hand and talking to Giselle and Scarlett.

"I promise you, you will not be disappointed," Jack bragged to the two women, intending to show them his magnificent ship, the _Black Pearl_.

Giggling, they sauntered down the harbour. Suddenly, Giselle said, in a less than enthusiastic voice, "Is that it? _The Black Pearl_?"

Dragging his gaze from Scarlett, Jack suddenly saw what Giselle saw, or rather, what she didn't. Instead of the mighty, magnificent ship Jack had been boasting about, tied up in the place of the grand ship was a tiny little boat, bobbing quietly in the waters. Its sail was tatty and punctured with holes, and was definitely not his boat.

"It's not very big," Giselle commented, raising an eyebrow.

"No love, that is a dinghy," Jack corrected the blonde. "My vessel is brilliant, and fierce, and huge-ish, and gone. Where's it gone?"

Seeing something in the distance, Giselle said, "Is that it there?"

On the horizon, the shape of a ship was as small as a dot on the turquoise blue sea. Jack gritted his teeth. He had a feeling something like this would happen.

"Why is it there?" Jack frowned, staring at the boat. Turning to Giselle and Scarlett, he assured them, "It's much bigger up close."

Sighing, Scarlett pouted. "But Jack, you promised to take us for a ride," she wailed.

Glaring at Scarlett, Giselle exclaimed, "I was to be given the first ride!"

"What, you?" Scarlett sneered, hand on hip.

As the two women fought in the background, Jack walked over to where a man lay asleep amongst a load of barrels, a tatty, moth-eaten teddy bear under his arm.

Tipping his glass of rum over the sleeping man's face, Jack said, "Mr Gibbs, any reason in particular why my ship is gone?"

Spluttering, Joshamee Gibbs murmured, "The ship? We're on the ship." He promptly lay back down, ready to resume what he'd just been doing. Sleeping.

Trying to remain calm (although it was quite hard, considering his ship had been snatched), Jack waited for a second while Gibbs realized what he'd just told him. Sure enough, the truth quickly sunk in.

"Jack! The ship's gone!" Gibbs exclaimed, scrambling to his feet.

Jack stared at Gibbs. He smiled sarcastically. "Really?"

Suddenly, both men were distracted by the fighting going on in the background. Scarlett had now grabbed Giselle by the hair and swung a punch at her.

"Ladies!" Jack said in irritation, sauntering back over to them. "Will you please shut it?"

Scarlett and Giselle stared at Jack. But Jack had had enough. His boat was gone, he was stranded, and they were fighting over who had the first ride on the now-gone boat? Suddenly their stupid questions bubbled in his mind, and decided to set the record straight. Turning to them in turn, he said,

"Will you please listen to me. Yes, I lied to you. No, I don't love you. Of course it makes you look fat!"

Giselle looked at him in shock once he'd said her dress made her look fat.

"I've never been to Brussels. It's pronounced 'egregious'. By the way, no. I've never actually met Pizzaro, but I love his pies. And all this pails to other insignificance in light of the fact that my ship has once again, gone. Savvy?" Jack asked Scarlett and Giselle.

The two women looked at each other and, like Jack had predicted, Giselle slapped him across the face. Scarlett slapped him even harder.

Turning to Gibbs, who was now standing next to him, Jack slapped him across the face. Gibbs turned back to Jack, his face less than impressed. For a moment Jack thought Gibbs was going to hit him back, and smiled timidly at him. Gibbs nodded in defeat.

Jack gave him a sly grin, and Gibbs declared, "Take what you can,"

"Give nothing back," Jack finished for him. They grinned at each other, then Gibbs walked after Giselle and Scarlett, who had now apparently forgotten their argument and were walking arm-in-arm back down the harbour.

"Tell me ladies," he called after them, "What do you know of sea turtles?"

"Sea turtles?" Giselle exclaimed, then they both linked arms with Gibbs and walked down the harbour as Gibbs started telling them all about sea turtles.

Jack looked at the little dinghy tied up. Barbossa, he knew, was behind this. But he knew what he had to do – and he would do it.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, the Black Pearl was, in deed, under the command of the mutinous Hector Barbossa. Barbossa, though he may seem cold and heartless, his soft side was most visible when he was around his pet monkey, Jack the Monkey. Right at this very moment, he was waving a peanut at the monkey, whilst cooing to him as if he were a small child. The monkey took the peanut in his little paws and chewed it.

"Who's a good boy, are you daddy's boy?" Barbossa cooed at the monkey. "Yes you are, you're a good boy."

"Sir!" One of the crew, Pintel, interrupted. Barbossa turned to him, leaning on the steering wheel.

Pintel was a rather hapless member of the_ Black Pearl _crew. Barbossa noted that he was distinctly lacking in intelligence but partially made up for it with his adequate fighting ability. He had been one of the original crew members of the _Black Pearl_ when it had been cursed.

"Some of the crew don't seem entirely...settled, about leaving Captain Jack behind."

"Again," agreed the equally hapless, one-eyed Ragetti. Barbossa tried to ignore Ragetti as he wiped his wooden eye with a filthy rag. Ragetti was closest to Pintel as they both lacked intelligence. He was a bit of an idiot, and was also one of the cursed crew.

"Again," echoed Pintel, feeling a bit more braver with some of the crew assembled behind him. Cotton the mute, who was standing at the ship's wheel, nodded in agreement.

"Is that so?" Barbossa said, looking at Pintel.

"It would make us feel a whole lot better for all our fortunes, if we could see that item you were telling us about," Pintel said, feeling less and less braver, especially as Barbossa had now raised his eyebrows and looked less than in agreement.

Luckily, Marty, another member of the crew, added, "On the charts."

"Aye," Mullroy and Murtogg, two navy men-turned-pirates chimed quietly. They were the more educated version of Pintel and Ragetti, though they also lacked intelligence and common sense. Most people thought they were bumbling fools, but they were loyal and had good experience on the seas, after being lower-ranking members of the Royal Navy.

"With our own eyes," Pintel nodded.

"Put an ease to our burden of guilt, so to speak," Ragetti said, cleaning his wooden eye with a filthy rag.

To be truthful, it wasn't to do with Jack at all. The only really wanted to have a peek at the charts, and to see what was so important about them. The charts had belonged to the Chinese pirate, Sao Feng, who had been one of the Pirate Lords. After he had died, he'd entrusted the charts to Elizabeth Swan, and now Barbossa had gained ownership of them.

"Ah," Barbossa said quietly. He turned to the wheel to pick up a large roll of parchment. "Feast your eyes upon this, maties. There's more than one way to live forever. Gents, I give you the Fountain of Youth."

With a flourishing hand, Barbossa opened the scroll. Pintel, Ragetti, Mullroy, Murtogg and Marty leaned forward with excitement. Then once they'd seen it, Pintel frowned in confusion. Smiling smugly, Barbossa noticed their expression and looked at the scroll himself.

It was then, that he saw what the others had seen. He brought up the parchment to eye level and saw a huge, gaping hole in the middle of the parchment. Where the map to the Fountain of Youth should have been.

It was then that Barbossa knew his cunning, sly plan had failed. Instead of marooning Jack in Tortuga with no boat and no map, it seemed that Sparrow had got one up on him. Again. He must have already known that Barbossa was going to do this, and had taken the middle part of the map with him.

Rolling his eyes, Barbossa muttered, "Sparrow!"

Not far from where there was now chaos on the _Pearl_, a small fishing boat sailed quite alone on the shimmering ocean. Fixing a makeshift flag to the sail, Jack Sparrow sat back down and opened a small piece of parchment. Examining it carefully, he rolled the three divisions of the map to resemble a real map, and not just a jumble of words and pictures.

Looking at the drawing of a little pirate ship sailing towards the drawing of a huge trophy, Jack muttered, "The devils flagship, and really bad eggs."

Squinting at the map, Jack rummaged in his jacket pocket for something. He pulled out a compass...which, for some reason, didn't point north. Watching the little arrow spin round a few times, he looked confused as it pointed to a little object next to him. He realized it was pointing to the rum, so picked the bottle up and unpopped the cork.

He watched the compass arrow spin around again and watched it go in the proper direction, and smiling smugly, said, "Drink up me hearties, yo ho!"

Glugging the beer, Jack let the ocean waves take the little dinghy in the direction he wanted. Even though he had been marooned and his ship stolen, Jack still felt the free feeling of liberty. For as long as he could sail these waters without a care in the world, he could deal with anything. Which was good, because what he didn't know was that the journey to the Fountain of Youth would be the adventure of a lifetime.


	3. The Idyllic Island

**Chapter Two**

Back on the _Black Pearl_, Barbossa was angry. And when he was angry, everyone knew about it. After he had thrown the scroll at Pintel and hurled a half-eaten apple at no one in particular, the angry pirate stormed off to his cabin, slamming the door behind him.

"Damn you, Jack Sparrow," Barbossa cursed, his good mood completely shattered. What he couldn't decide was what to do next. They couldn't find the Fountain of Youth without getting a map, and it just so happened that the map was in the hands of his arch-rival. Whatever happened, he was not going to give up.

Grabbing an apple, Barbossa sunk into his armchair, sinking his teeth into the fresh green fruit. Musing over his options, of which there were few, he came to one conclusion. They had to go back. He could invent a story about not knowing Jack was left behind, and they'd sailed back to get him.

But Barbossa knew that Jack was not a simpleton, and he would know the truth. They'd both have to sail to the Fountain of Youth together.

"Gah!" Barbossa hissed, getting up from the moth-eaten burgundy armchair and paced the floor, wracking every inch of his brain to find a solution. His crew were expecting him to lead the way, and all he was doing was sulking in his cabin. He narrowed his watery-blue eyes into slits while he stared at the old, dusty portrait that hung above his chair of a ship sinking into the ocean.

Deciding that the best course of action was to return back to Tortuga, Barbossa strode over to his cabin door, unlocked it and stepped back out on deck.

Immediately a hush fell over the crew, who had been talking earnestly about the deceit of the two captains. They watched expectantly as Barbossa strode over to the wheel.

At that moment, Barbossa had a brainwave. It would be too humiliating to go back to Tortuga – besides, Jack had probably already discovered the _Pearl_ was under his command, and had rowed off in the little fishing boat – but there might be another way. If the legends were true...

"Right men. We have two options. We can either go back to Tortuga with our tails between our legs –" There was a hushed murmur as Barbossa said this. Some of the crew shifted uncomfortably at this thought, whilst others bit their lips in anxiety.

Grinning his wide, toothy grin, he said, "Or, we could track down the legendary Fleur de Bois." He accented the last three words with a sort of deep respect, as if he already knew this so-called legendary pirate.

"Fleur de Bois?" Pintel gasped quietly to Ragetti.

"Fleur de Bois," Ragetti echoed.

"'Scuse me sir, but ain't that a bit...desperate? After all, it's Jack who's got the map," one of the crew added hastily as Barbossa gave him a glare.

There was a murmur of agreement. Barbossa narrowed his eyes. "Ah, but ain't it even more desperate to return to Jack?"

"Aye," they muttered.

"But how are we goin' to find this Fleur de whats-her-name? Legend says no man could ever find her," Marty pointed out. Pintel and Ragetti nodded in agreement.

Barbossa laughed. "Legend also says that she comes only to those who really need her. And don't we, lads?"

"Aye!" They all cheered. Cotton's parrot squawked in reply. Cotton was mute, and had trained his blue and yellow Macaw parrot to speak for him.

"Now, all we have to do is find the island she lives on," Barbossa grinned. _Easier said than done_, he thought. Squinting up at the sky, even though the sun was out, storm clouds were forming. The wind was changing, and if they weren't careful, they'd be caught in it.

Opening a bottle of rum, Barbossa gulped it down and swung the boat around. With any luck, they'd be able to find shelter and be protected from the worst of the storm. It seemed that nothing would stand in their way. For now.

*

"This is bad," Jack said to himself. "This is worse than bad. This is worse than being marooned on that god-forsaken island in the middle of flaming nowhere. At least the island had rum."

Throwing the contents of the bucket overboard, Jack continued to mutter to himself. If anyone could have seen him now, they would never have thought that that pirate was Jack Sparrow. For the person in the boat was in such a sorry state, they never would have associated such bad fortune with the elusive, eccentric captain.

After following the compass' directions, Jack had steered the boat confidently in the direction of the setting sun. He started to relax and drink his rum. After all, who needed a crew when being a pirate was this easy? Unfortunately, that bottle of rum had become two, which had become three, when after a while things got very out of hand and Jack had gotten so drunk he could barely remember his own name, never mind why he was in the middle of the ocean in a dinghy with a broken compass in his hand.

In fact, things had got so bad that Jack didn't notice the heavy storm clouds form overhead, and before long it had started drizzling, The drizzle turned into a shower, and the shower turned into a big storm. The dinghy had then decided that it couldn't take the pressure from the rain and wind and sprung a leak. Promptly, another leak appeared and before long, the dinghy had started sinking.

Luckily, the storm was starting to wear off and at least he had a bucket, but Jack decided that the only thing to do was swim for it. From here, he could see a small patch a land that would do for temporary accommodation before he commandeered a boat and continued on his quest.

"Curse you, Barbossa," Jack muttered. He wouldn't even be in this sorry state if it wasn't for the scruffy, sneaky, _old_ pirate who had stolen _his_ boat.

Throwing the bucket away, Jack braced himself and jumped into the cool, clear water. He swam all the way to the small island and prayed it was inhabited. Tired and hungry, Jack just wanted to be back on the _Black Pearl_, ordering about his crew and having a little rest.

Alas, it seemed the island had been abandoned long ago, or else it hadn't yet been discovered. For whatever reason, Jack realised he was on his own. Again. He rolled his eyes before walking across the cool golden sand and into the jungle that stretched across the whole island.

Even in his bad mood, Jack had to admit that this was an idyllic island, the perfect place to go if you wanted to hide from someone. The vegetation was fresh and lush, with huge banana and coconut trees lining a sandy path to a fresh water creek. There, a postcard-perfect waterfall flowed, creating tiny little air bubbles in the water. Jack knelt down and cupped his hands before dipping them in the water for a drink. Then he cracked open a coconut and had a small feast with the bananas, berries and wild fruits that were aplenty on the idyllic island.

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the trees. Jack spun around, his eyes searching for intruders. But there was no one there. He turned back to his feast, but there was another rustle. There was definitely someone there. A black shape edged between the trees.

"Who goes there?" Jack said, scrambling to his feet.

He had had a pretty bad experience when it came to discovering islands. One particularly bad experience included a tribe of cannibals who thought he was a reincarnation of the god and crowned him their chief. He'd thought it was quite flattering at the time, until he discovered that they planned to sacrifice him to 'free his holy spirit'.

Shuddering at the thought, Jack took a tentative step forward. "Show yourself!"

"Jack! It is you!" an English voice exclaimed. The figure stepped out of the cover of the trees. She was dressed like a pirate, and the way she walked hinted she had spent a lot of time with pirates.

Their eyes met, and Jack grinned. "Elizabeth. What a surprise."

* * *

**_Sorry it's been so long since the last update. I've been really busy with schoolwork and stuff. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and I'll try and write the next chapter as soon as a can._**


	4. Shipwrecked

**Chapter Three**

In days gone by, Isla de Merhino had been a secret port for pirates to stash their loot. Not many people knew of it, least of all Elizabeth Turner and her husband Will, who had stayed there when they had got married – after their first hasty, unofficial marriage on board the Black Pearl in the midst of the great battle with Davy Jones. They were both sure that no other person lived on the island – after all, Isla de Merhino had long since been forgotten once pirates had discovered the livelier, easier to find port of Tortuga. Which was why Elizabeth had been so surprised when she discovered another person on the island.

In turn, Jack was equally surprised. He automatically assumed that the island was uninhabited. _Perfect_, he thought. _Just what I need_.

"Jack! What a surprise," Elizabeth gasped, her big brown eyes wide in astonishment.

"Lizzie! How are you? Where is young William?" Jack stumbled forward, arms flailing madly.

At that moment, another person came crashing through the trees. This time, it was a small child, no older than three. The child had tufty light brown hair, big expressive eyes and a tiny, makeshift wooden sword in his hand. He twirled the sword around his head whilst sucking his thumb madly at the same time. He stared up at the scary man with long black dreadlocks and two thick black lines around his eyes and stood protectively in front of his mother, jabbing his sword at Jack to warm him off.

"William, it's okay, Jack won't hurt you," Elizabeth soothed the child. But William Turner III remained unconvinced. He lowered his sword and started sucking his thumb again, but still kept a wary eye on the stranger.

Jack, on his part, was also wary of the young child. He had not had much interaction with children, and there was something savage about how the miniature version of the boy's father sucked his thumb. Jack coughed awkwardly.

"So what brings you here, Captain Jack Sparrow?" Elizabeth asked, staring at her old ally/enemy. Elizabeth and Jack were not exactly on friendly terms. Whilst Elizabeth was grateful and indebted to Jack for helping her husband William stab the heart of Davy Jones instead of stabbing it himself, but she remained wary of Jack after a few situations.

"Well..." Jack began, before realising admitting his current status would not do much for his reputation, decided to change the subject. He stumbled off, still slightly drunk after his journey in the dinghy. "I don't suppose you have any rum on this island?"

Elizabeth and William watched as Jack tottered to the nearest tree and tapped it. He did the same to the next tree. Elizabeth arched an eyebrow as the insane pirate spun around, acting like a loon. Finally, after witnessing enough of the pirate's escapades, Elizabeth said, "Jack, just why are you here?"

Jack smiled to himself, then turned to Elizabeth and William, who had stopped sucking his thumb and started jabbing his sword at Jack again. He was clearly scared by the pirate's obvious insanity.

"The reason I am here is because...Elizabeth, will you tell your sprog to stop trying to stab me?" Jack stole a quick glance at William. Elizabeth fussed about her son, reassuring him.

Angrily, she spat at Jack, "His name is William, and he is not a 'sprog'. He's my son."

"To be honest love, I couldn't give a flying monkeys if he was your great uncle Bulgaria," Jack retorted, arms flailing about again.

Elizabeth, positively fuming with rage, snapped, "Just what do you want, Jack? In fact, don't bother answering that. Just get off my island, and leave my child and I alone."

With that, Elizabeth swept her son up and flounced off, into the jungle beyond. Realising he had forgotten about asking for a boat, he ran after Elizabeth and William.

"Elizabeth! Lizzie! Don't go!" Jack called, doing his comical high-stepping run to catch up with Elizabeth. He waved his arms madly. Despite himself, William couldn't resist a giggle.

Glaring at Jack, Elizabeth repeated, "Go Jack. We don't want you here."

"Shh, please, just listen to me. Where can I find a boat, and how far is Tortuga from here?" Jack waved his arms a bit more.

Elizabeth turned to him. Her light brown eyes were still blazing, but she figured the sooner she answered his question the sooner he'd go from the island. Suddenly her mind flashed back to when they got abandoned together by Barbossa on Rumrunner's Island. It had ended up with dancing around a fire singing – no, shrieking – the song A Pirate's Life for Me. She blushed thinking about it. It definitely was not the sort of thing one would expect from an English lady. Her cheeks turned a deep shade of scarlet.

"There's a boat tied up in the south-west side of the island. It's about ten miles from here to Tortuga," Elizabeth nodded quietly, smiling slightly.

Jack nodded back, before turning and running through the jungle back to the small port which was home to the small rowboat. "Goodbye Elizabeth, and say hello to Will for me!"

It was quite far from the waterfall to the port, so Jack wasted no time indulging in idle gossip. Instead he did his trademark comical run all along the beach to where the row boat was tied up. His long dreadlocks flew out behind him. Unluckily for him it had started to drizzle again. Luckily for him he had a spare bottle of rum hidden in his tunic, and the broken compass had never left the palm of his hand.

Once he got to the row boat, hastily untying the rope and grabbing the oars. Spinning the small decaying boat around he didn't notice Elizabeth watching him from the cliff top high above. There was only one thing on the pirate's mind; getting to Tortuga.

Elizabeth watched Jack sail away until he was a tiny dot on the horizon. She stayed there for a while even after the pirate had gone. Ignoring the rain that was now pelting down, soaking her hair and clothes, Elizabeth went back to where William was playing in their cave, snug and dry.

That was the last time Elizabeth saw Jack. Or so she thought.

* * *

_Big thanks to my loyal reviewer DaughterofPoseidon32498. I really appreciate your comments!_


	5. Tortuga

**Chapter Four**

Amongst the chaos amidst the Black Pearl, a single figure cut across the deck, away from his squabbling crew, and gazed out across the ocean. His tall blue plume atop of his hat swayed violently in the breeze. His tapped his long, boney fingers, annoyed with himself. How hadn't he seen it coming? He knew Jack better than that. Yet he had been so caught up in finding the Fountain of Youth that he had overlooked the obvious – he was up against Captain Jack Sparrow. Or, he sniggered to himself, Captain Jack Sparrow with no ship to be a captain of.

So what were they to do now? Jack had the charts. He had small boat. And he was on his way to the Fountain of Youth. Well, he knew what he should do. But it was so humiliating, Hector Barbossa shuddered to think about it. And with a crew of squabbling pirates, it was not going to be easy. He strode over to the crew, walking tall and proud, more confident than he actually felt.

"Listen up, you mangy dogs!" Hector said loudly. Nobody heeded his command. Instead, if anything, they just got worse.

"It's your fault! You were in charge of the ship!" Pintel yelled at Mullroy and Murtogg.

"How was it our fault? We didn't want to leave Captain Sparrow behind in the first place!" Mullroy shot back.

Cotton's parrot squawked something incomprehensible.

"QUIET!" Barbossa yelled. Immediately there was silence. Nobody had ever heard the captain shout before.

"Now, we have to act fast before Sparrow has a chance to get away. We can make up a story about leaving him behind. There's a storm coming, I can feel it in me bones. If we want to get to Tortuga before he has a chance to get away, I suggest we set sail now. Heave to!" Barbossa nodded at Moran, the first mate.

"Heave to and hoist sail!" Moran commanded in his rough, piratey voice.

As usual, there was a mad scramble as everyone rushed to set sail. Barbossa himself took the wheel, a fresh new determinedness in his eyes. With him sailing they'd get to the port of Tortuga by the light of the rising sun.

*

In the light of the moon, a man staggered off his borrowed boat and tripped along the dock. The journey from Isla de Merhino to Tortuga had been longer than Jack had anticipated, and was running a bit behind schedule. He was just stopping by Tortuga for supplies before going on his epic quest which Jack thought would make him famous.

Staggering past the _King's Arms_ to the more livelier _Faithful Bride_, Jack scanned the room for a familiar figure. Of course, he was where Jack had first met him, sleeping in the pig pen. It was Joshamee Gibbs.

"Mr Gibbs!" Jack said, hovering over the sleeping man. "Gibbs!" Grabbing a bucket full of water, Jack threw it over the man to wake him up.

"Curse ye, old Jack Sparrow. Ye knows it's bad luck to wake a man when he's a-sleepin'!" Joshamee Gibbs chided, but grinned at his old companion. "Now what may you be a'searchin' for?"

Together they located a private table, hidden from prying ears or fighting pirates. Joshamee Gibbs hadn't changed at all – although perhaps he was even more unlucky. Clearly, his knowledge of sea turtles hadn't impressed Giselle or Scarlett.

"The thing is, I need a ship. And a crew. To get to the Fountain of Youth," Jack smiled foolishly.

"Jack, it's a fool's errand, ye knows that!" Gibbs shook his head, gulping some rum.

"Yeah, but I have something Barbossa doesn't!" Jack announced proudly.

Gibbs just stared at him dumb-founded.

"The charts!" Jack grinned, when Gibbs still appeared confused.

"Ah, the charts, ye say! I feel a change in the wind, says I. I'll find ye a crew, there's gotta be someone on this island mad enough as you. Don't know where to start searchin' for a ship, though," Gibbs clanked his bottle of rum on the table.

"Great. Now, I'm going to bed. Goodnight!"

*

"So this is my fearless, death-defying crew?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"They're a little new to this sort of thing," Gibbs chipped in.

Jack walked along the line of his new crew. It was even more pitiful than his last. At least _they_ didn't have a wooden leg.

"Sir, are you afraid of death?" Jack asked a tall pirate with a scraggly beard, hooked nose and a hook instead of a hand. The man shook his head. "Excellent!"

"And how, may I ask, are we goin' to get there?" A tall man with a soft voice at the end of the row spoke for the first time. But there was something strange about this person with a big straw hat.

_I know you_, Jack thought, frowning as he faced the person. Quick as a flash, Jack pulled off the person's straw hat. To his dismay, a pretty woman with long, dark curls was the person underneath.

"Flora!" Jack exclaimed.

_Slap!_ Flora greeted him with a hard slap across the face. He deserved it, of course, he knew that. He'd stolen her boat, sunk it and promptly legged it. Their reunion was not to be a happy one.

"Well...the thing is...there's been a bit of trouble on the ship front..." Jack started, mentally kicking himself. This was not the time or place to admit the best ship he could find was a small barge, barely big enough for the twenty or so members of the crew.

They followed his gaze to the pathetic-looking barge. Almost at once there was an uproar.

"Gibbs, you can't expect us to crew that!" Sheehan, one of the more able-bodied crew members, cried.

"Jack knows what he's doin'," Gibbs tried to stand up for Jack, but he was silenced by Flora, who looked like she was about to burst. In usual pirate fashion, they all started squabbling amongst themselves.

_Here we go again_, thought Jack. If he could manage to sail on his own, then he would, of course, sailed on his own. However, he needed a proper ship and a big crew to achieve this new mission, which was looking impossible by every minute that ticked by.

Across the shimmering water, a big ship rounded the corner. The magnificent ship cut effortlessly through the water, to the docks of Tortuga. At first Jack and his new crew were too busy arguing amongst themselves to notice the Black Pearl, until Joshamee Gibbs coughed.

"Jack," he started, running his hands through his greying hair.

"Not now, Gibbs!" Jack waved in annoyance, before turning back to argue with Flora.

"Jack, you really ought to see –" Gibbs tried again, but Jack continued to argue.

"Jack!" Gibbs shouted, not taking his eyes off the spectacular sight.

"What?" Jack shouted back, focusing his full attention on his first mate.

"I think we've found a ship."

* * *

**_Sorry it's taken so long to upload another chapter on here, but I've been so busy at the moment. Well, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! I know it's started off a bit slow, but I promise it will get a bit more interesting. And there'll be a bit of romance too, and lots of piratey squabbles! :)_**


	6. The Bargain

**Chapter Five**

Everyone was completely silent as the _Black Pearl_ sailed into the dock. Compared to the other ships, she was absolutely extraordinary. Back in the days when Jack was an East India Trading Company employee, it had been called the Wicked Wench, but once he'd gone on the run he'd re-christened her the _Black Pearl_.

Joshamee Gibbs was the first to speak. "Bless me soul, it's the _Pearl_!"

There was a mutter of approval as the ropes were swung from the upper deck and a small, wily teenager jumped lightly to the ground to tie up the ship to the docks.

Jack smirked as a familiar figure clad in fine brown leather and a hat with extravagant blue ostrich feathers strode towards Jack.

"Hector! What a surprise!" Jack grinned, watching a bulbous purple vein on the mutineer's forehead twitch with rage.

"Arr, that 'tis," Barbossa replied, trying to compose himself. "Tell me, d'you know where the charts are? We seem to have...misplaced them."

"Me? I know nothing about any missing charts. I've been here the whole time – haven't I Mr Gibbs?" Jack gave the inside pocket of his waistcoat a surreptitious pat. Barbossa's sharp eyes noticed the careless gesture, and took a step forward.

"Now you listen to me, Sparrow!" Barbossa snarled, losing all his charm. "Give me the charts, and I'm sure we could come to some sort of arrangement. You could even come to the Fountain of Youth, should you choose. But give me the charts first."

Jack had to admit, Barbossa was very persuasive. _But I know what he's like_, Jack thought to himself. _He's attempted to mutiny me twice. Once he's succeeded. I need the upper-hand on this._

Coughing, Jack clasped his hands behind his back and started circling Barbossa. The crew watched in interest as Jack made a bargain with Barbossa.

"If I was to keep the charts, and you were to steer the boat, and the pair of us were to be co-captains, I'm sure we could come to an arrangement," Jack bargained.

Barbossa digested this information, wrinkling his nose slightly. _He definitely has the upper-hand on this situation_, Barbossa thought. _How can I take charge of this situation?_

"And if I was to choose...not to?" Barbossa chose his words carefully, stroking his beard.

"Then you ain't got a chance, mate," Jack replied slyly, glancing over Barbossa's shoulder. He watched as Gibbs and some of his new-found crew sidled up to the Black Pearl and silently started cutting the ropes. Luckily no one from Barbossa's crew saw, but Jack knew that even if they did, they wouldn't raise the alarm. They just went along with whatever.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I have the charts. And a boat. Sort of. So, if I were you, I'd give that scraggly beard a trim, as I've said countless times before, and give me my boat back," Jack snapped, giving his own beard a stroke.

"Ha! It's my boat now, Sparrow! And –"

Before Barbossa had a chance to reply, there was a cheer from behind as Gibbs cut the last rope and climbed up the ladder, back to the Pearl. Barbossa spun around and, realizing was was going on, rolled his eyes as he prepared for Jack's usual speech.

"You will always remember today as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow," Jack declared smugly, swinging himself up the rope ladder as Barbossa watched his beloved ship sail slowly away from the docks.

In the end, however, it was Barbossa who had the last laugh.

* * *

**Sorry it's a shortie this time, I'm going on holiday tomorrow so I wanted to upload at least one chapter. Next time it'll be a longer chapter. Oh well, I hoped you enjoyed! Please press that lovely review button!**


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